Lead concentrations in feathers and blood of common blackbirds (Turdus merula) and in earthworms inhabiting unpolluted and moderately polluted urban areas

Scheifler, Renaud; Cœurdassier, Michaël; Morilhat, Céline; Bernard, Nadine; Faivre, Bruno; Flicoteaux, P.; Giraudoux, Patrick; Noël, Michelle; Piotte, P.; Rieffel, Dominique; Vaufleury, Annette de; Badot, Pierre‐Marie

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.09.011

Cited by 131 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…10: 20140164 lead concentrations in feathers after one year of captivity do not allow detection of any relationship. However, the elevated values of lead concentrations in feathers collected at capture time confirm that feathers do sequester lead [5,21]. Thus, we cannot exclude the possibility that feathers constitute a way to detoxify vital organs of lead as well as zinc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Feathers were mineralized as described in Frantz et al [21]. Feathers were washed vigorously with 0.25 M NaOH solution, rinsed energetically three times in ultrapure water (Milli-Q purified) to remove external contamination [5], left for 1 h in ultrapure water, dried for 12 h at 808C to dry mass, crushed to powder and weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg. Feathers were then digested twice in 1 ml nitric acid (67%), followed by a final digestion in 1 ml hydrogen peroxide (30%).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are emitted by natural processes [1,2] and by anthropogenic activities [3]. Consequently, their concentrations are much higher in urban environments and urban wildlife populations than in their rural counterparts [3][4][5]. Recent correlative and experimental studies have shown that some trace metals affect individual fitness by impairing reproductive success and survival [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The adaptive function of melanin-based plumage coloration to trace metals

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Trace metals produced by anthropogenic activities are of major importance in urban areas and might constitute a new evolutionary force selecting for the ability to cope with their deleterious effects. Interestingly, melanin pigments are known to bind metal ions, thereby potentially sequestering them in inert body parts such as coat and feathers, and facilitating body detoxification. Thus, a more melanic plumage or coat coloration could bring a selective advantage for animals living in polluted areas. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the link between melanin-based coloration and zinc and lead concentrations in feathers of urban feral pigeons, both at capture time and after one year of captivity in standardized conditions. Results show that differently coloured pigeons had similar metal concentrations at capture time. Metal concentrations strongly decreased after one year in standardized conditions, and more melanic pigeons had higher concentrations of zinc (but not lead) in their feathers. This suggests that more melanic pigeons have a higher ability to store some metals in their feathers compared with their paler counterparts, which could explain their higher success in urbanized areas. Overall, this work suggests that trace metal pollution may exert new selective forces favouring more melanic phenotypes in polluted environments.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The adaptive function of melanin-based plumage coloration to trace metals

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Pb, one of the non-essential elements for which there has been a great concern for wildlife conservation in urban and industrial areas, was detected in 78% of the broods studied but its concentrations did not differ between urban and forest birds. This suggests that this element, which has been banned from gasoline in most industrialized countries, tends to be less at risk for wildlife than it has been in the past for this category of middle-size and tertiary towns (see for instance Scheifler et al, 2006). Atmospheric NO 2 is a pollutant that is particularly relevant in the context of urbanization as it is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels for traffic and heating.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies dealing with pollution by non-essential metal elements are more numerous, but most of them only report biomonitoring data. For instance, studies found higher concentrations of Pb in urban birds than in their rural counterparts with individuals exhibiting blood concentrations higher than the benchmark value related to subclinical and physiological effects in birds (Scheifler et al, 2006;Roux and Marra, 2007). Clearly, descriptive studies assessing elements in rural and urban birds may provide data about possible excesses of non-essential and potentially toxic elements such as Pb, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), or mercury (Hg) in urban birds compared to rural individuals, and may facilitate the design of more mechanistic experiments about the impacts of urbanization on birds.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Element Analysis of Blood Samples in a Passerine Species: Excesses and Deficiencies of Trace Elements in an Urbanization Study

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urbanization is a growing phenomenon characterized by a complete restructuring of natural areas. In urban bird populations, a reduced offspring survival and body condition and an overall lower breeding success are often observed compared to populations inhabiting more natural habitats. Higher pollution levels and poorer quality of natural resources in cities are two environmental factors frequently mentioned in the literature to explain the differences between urban and non-urban populations. Pollution and poor quality of food may lead to an excess of non-essential elements such as Pb or Cd or to deficiencies of essential elements such as Cu or Zn, which may explain some of the impacts, notably on immunity, observed in urbanization studies. The present study compared the breeding parameters, brood body mass and condition, and haptoglobin levels, a marker of inflammatory immunity, in two urban and two forest populations of Great tits in Eastern France, together with a multi-element analysis (25 non-essential and essential trace elements) of blood samples from 13-day-old nestlings from the four populations. The concentration of NO 2 , a gaseous pollutant typical of urban pollution, was also measured. The NO 2 concentrations were significantly higher in the urban areas, but no association with biological variables was detected. Non-essential metals were undetectable in the plasma of the birds from both habitats, except Pb, whose concentrations, however, did not differ between the urban and forest birds. A positive relationship was found between the plasmatic richness in essential elements (as assessed from the coordinates of the first axis of a PCA including 12 elements) and the average brood body mass and condition. We suggest that lower quality resources or/and a higher metabolic demand may be a causal mechanism for the reduced body condition often observed in urban bird nestlings. Finally, our exploratory study could promote more mechanistic experiments (e.g., supplementation) to explain the negative effect of urban conditions on bird populations.

show abstract

Stadtamseln sind anders

Bosch¹,

Lurz²

2016

Biologie in unserer Zeit

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abiotische Faktoren wie Straßenlärm und vor allem Kunstlicht beeinflussen nicht nur Tiere in der Stadt, sondern verändern sie auch. Am Beispiel der Amsel zeigt sich, wie die Anpassung an sich verändernde Rahmenbedingungen mikroevolutionäre Prozesse in Gang setzen kann. Kunstlicht verändert deutlich die Tagesperiodik und Fortpflanzung: Es lässt die Amseln länger wach sein, morgens früher singen und früher im Jahr brüten. Lärm beeinflusst ihren Gesang. Um den Verkehrslärm zu übertönen, singen Stadtamseln lauter und in höheren Tonlagen. Außerdem zeigen Amseln im Verstädterungsprozess ein geringeres Neugier‐ und ein verändertes, dynamisches Furchtverhalten. Städte haben das Potenzial, Tierarten zu beherbergen, aber auch um sie zu verändern, und eine große Frage für die Zukunft ist daher, ob die Anpassung an die weltweit wachsenden, urbanen Lebensräume zu einer Evolution von neuen “Stadt‐Arten” führt.

show abstract

Lead concentrations in feathers and blood of common blackbirds (Turdus merula) and in earthworms inhabiting unpolluted and moderately polluted urban areas

Cited by 131 publications

References 36 publications

The adaptive function of melanin-based plumage coloration to trace metals

The adaptive function of melanin-based plumage coloration to trace metals

Multi-Element Analysis of Blood Samples in a Passerine Species: Excesses and Deficiencies of Trace Elements in an Urbanization Study

Stadtamseln sind anders

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About